A man's house goes up in flames and he goes missing for almost a full day. But it's the circumstances that surround the fire that broke out in Rock Falls that has people asking questions.
Monday morning, 70-year-old Ronald Halgren's Rock Falls house caught fire even though Halgren only had a few more minutes to live in the house. It was supposed to be boarded up at 8 a.m. Monday.
The attorney for the city of Rock Falls, Thomas Sanders, told KWQC that Halgren had been evicted from the house at 812 Avenue A on Friday, when the city took possession of it. Halgren had the weekend to move his belongings out.
But ten minutes before crews arrived to board up the windows and doors, Rock Falls Fire was called to the address. There were flames shooting out of the house and Halgren was no where to be found.
KWQC spoke to the neighbor who called that fire in. Beverly Williams said Halgren's home has been a nuisance in the neighborhood.
"They had to put the law down, reality slapped him in the face yesterday morning," Williams said of Halgren's eviction.
Williams has lived across the street from Halgren for three years. But early Monday morning, while having a cup of coffee on her porch, she witnessed something out of the ordinary.
"I heard the door slam, he proceeded from the back of the house and was moving rather fast," Williams said. "Shortly after that I looked and saw black smoke coming from the top floor."
Halgren's home was up in flames and the fire department responded. But this isn't the first time city crews have been to the house.
"It's kind of an eyesore."
Attorney Thomas Sanders said Ronald Halgren was about to be kicked out for good, after battling the city for years, and not keeping the property up to code.
Beverly Williams said it was about time.
"He would absolutely be a hoarder," said Williams. "The stench is really bad, he wouldn't keep up on the yard work or the house. It makes the whole neighborhood look really bad."
The city condemned the home twice. Once in 2005 and once in 2009 for a buildup of trash that attracted wild animals and Halgren's failure to maintain utilities like water and sewer service.
According to court documents, Halgren owed the city more than ten thousand dollars in fines. The city asked a judge to foreclose on the home in 2010 and last Friday, eight months after the city bought the home at a public auction, Rock Falls took possession. So, Halgren began moving out.
"He started moving last Thursday evening," Williams said. "He had started day and night ... he had to be out Monday morning by 8 a.m.
Halgren was out by Monday morning by 8 a.m. -- but the house was up in flames.
Police considered Ronald Halgren to be missing until his car was pulled over 16 hours later in Sycamore, Illinois. Police arrested Halgren on several weapons charges and he's currently being held in the Dekalb County Jail on $250,000 bond.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
